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In less than two hours this material can kill 99.9% of most of
the bacteria on its surface, including E.coli, influenza,
staphylococcus and H1N1.

A recent four-year trial has shown that using it on such
frequently touched hospital items as bed rails, IV poles, tray
tables and nurse call buttons reduces infection rates by more
than 40%.

With hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) the fourth-leading cause
of death in the United States, such a wonder material could have
a profound impact on the health care industry.

The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that each year
HAIs kill more than 100,000 people and inflict costs of $45
billion. Nearly one out of every 20 patients in U.S. hospitals
acquires an HAI.

So what is this miraculous material? Is it a technological
breakthrough born of years of experimentation and hard work by
hundreds of scientists toiling in hidden labs?

Not quite.

In fact, you probably have some in your pocket right now—this
magic material is none other than ordinary copper, although its
advocates prefer the term "antimicrobial copper."

Scientific Proof

Preliminary results of the most recent study of antimicrobial
copper, which was paid for by the U.S. Department of Defense,
were presented last week at the World Health Organization's (WHO)
First International Conference on Prevention and Infection
Control in Geneva, Switzerland.

Conducted in the intensive care units of three U.S. hospitals,
the trial showed a 40.4% reduction in the risk of patient
infection.

"We started with an idea and four short years later we now have a
potential solution to one of the world's most devastating
problems," Dr. Michael Schmidt told Reuters.
Schmidt is a trial leader as well as professor and vice chairman
of microbiology at the Medical University of South Carolina,
which took part in the research.

And this isn't the first such study of the powers of
antimicrobial copper. Previous research has been validated by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, which in 2008 registered five copper-alloy products
and approved the claim that the metal could kill 99.9% of
bacteria within two hours.

According to the Copper Development Association, an umbrella
group for companies that develop and sell antimicrobial copper
products, there are now 355 registered copper alloys.

It's a market just waiting to take off.

What's puzzling is why antimicrobial copper isn't already a
popular commodity. In this case, modern science is playing
catch-up to our ancient ancestors.

Throughout human history people seem to have recognized the red
metal's mystical powers, often using copper containers to store
and transport water; a practice still common today. Ancient
civilizations such as the Egyptians and the Aztecs used copper as
a medicine and to forge medical instruments.

Although they couldn't have understood how it worked, they could
readily observe the health benefits.

So how does it work?

Copper releases ions that penetrate the cell walls of microbes,
disrupting their ability to function and reproduce.

Better still, copper retains its bacteria-killing effectiveness
even when mixed with other metals such as nickel and tin. That
has helped ease aesthetic concerns, as many of the current
antibacterial copper products are alloys of a lighter color and a
finish closer to that of stainless steel.

Copper Everywhere

The innate ability of copper to kill microbes could have profound
implications in several industries if it becomes widely adopted.

We've already seen what it can do for health care. If hospitals
replace their most commonly touched surfaces—most of which have
no bacteria-killing properties whatsoever—with antimicrobial
copper, it could not only save lives, but billions of
dollars.

"It's the goal of every hospital to discharge you as quickly as
possible...in order to protect you from hospital-acquired
infections and to control costs," Schmidt told
Reuters.

Schmidt said bacteria on ICU surfaces cause up to 80% of patient
infections.

Similarly, widespread use of antimicrobial copper for railings
and door handles in public buildings such as schools, offices and
sports complexes, as well as on public transportation, could help
prevent the spread of the flu and other infectious diseases among
the general public.

That would save the healthcare industry even more money and
benefit many businesses by reducing employee sick days.

Antimicrobial copper's effectiveness against E.coli in particular
has applications in the food and hospitality industries. The use
of more copper surfaces in food processing plants and kitchens
would likely greatly reduce the outbreaks of such dangerous
infections.

And at least one company, Richmond, VA-based Cupron, has found a
way to use antimicrobial copper in fabric, including socks, sheets and
pillowcases. The bedding is supposed to fight facial
wrinkles, but the socks were sent to the trapped Chilean miners
last year to keep their feet free from infection.

Of course, should antimicrobial copper catch on in a big way—and
with such clear benefits, there's good reason to think it
will—one of the biggest beneficiaries will be the world's copper
producers such as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:
FCX), Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO), and Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE: TCK).

In fact, copper's high cost may be the biggest factor holding
back greater adoption of the metal in its rediscovered
bacteria-killing role.

"The question is whether despite clear health benefits, you are
going to be able to persuade governments and hospitals they need
to rip out stainless steel or something else they've got in
already," Jon Barnes, of metal industry consultants CRU Group,
told Reuters.

However, the copper producers already are looking forward to the
new markets antimicrobial copper could create.

"It's an exciting opportunity for the industry to have
applications in hospitals and clinics, but also in public
buildings in general," Freeport McMoRan president and chief
executive Richard Adkerson told Reuters in
March. "The science clearly supports it ... copper kills
bacteria, and when you look at the statistics of the illnesses
and mortalities from infections in health facilities, in
hospitals, it's mind-boggling."